Still Here!!

Hello Everyone!.....I am still here. I've just been a busy fellow since being called back to work and beginning the church planting work as Pastor of Reformed Baptist Fellowship of Lewisburg!......The Lord has already blessed us abundantly!....His grace and provident care never cease to amaze me!

Hopefully soon I will have time to post something that is laid upon my heart.

Grace & Peace to you all!

Tom

Boasting in Christ Alone

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal.6:14)

This is quite an astounding statement when one considers the confidence that this man had placed in his own righteousness and the pride that he had in his Jewish heritage and lineage!

O how he rested in his supposed right standing before God! No doubt he often reflected on the merits of his person and work!

Recall his enumeration of these grounds of boasting in Philippians 3:5-6...."Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless,"

Like Paul, we "glory" in many things. We glory in our accomplishments, we glory in our family tree, we glory in our health and our outward appearance, we glory in our educations and our occupations, we glory in possessions. But, most tragically, we glory in our own supposed goodness as we compare ourselves with others and take comfort that "we are not like them"!

But how quickly this foundation collapses when we see God's perfect standard, when we see the Son, who always did those things that were pleasing to the Father, loving righteousness and hating iniquity in every thought, word, and deed.
As one stands in the piercing light of Holiness and purity they are utterly undone and can only cry out with Isaiah, "Woe is me"!

BUT GOD!!.......Revealed His righteousness.....He revealed His Son! He did not reveal Him as a standard for us to measure up to....He revealed Him as the standard to flee to! And, as our very source and place of righteousness!

"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the GIFT of RIGHTEOUSNESS shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Rom.5:17)

Paul says it this way in 1Cor.1:30..."But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:"

In Christ I stand before God complete, accepted, righteous, reconcilled, perfected!

No wonder Paul continues on in Philippians 3:7-9....."But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

Truly, where is boasting then? What do we have that we have not received? He made us and He bought us! If any man glories, let him glory in the Lord!

Christ is our Life (Col.3:4).....He is our all in all.....He is our salvation and our standing before a Holy God who demands that man be Holy as He is Holy!

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness"!!

The Battle for the Mind

I wanted to repost this once again as a new year begins. Realizing that the onslaught and the battle for the mind has not decreased, but instead, has intensified, I felt the need to once again focus on the "front lines" of the fight.
Our society is gravely ill and in a wretched condition. On every hand, every day, we are awash in depravity, the images and words that feed the lusts of the flesh and turn the mind away from Godliness! Satan knows us well, he knows that if he can conquer and direct the mind, he has the victory.

My prayer in this new year is that our minds will be dedicated to our Lord in adoration and service and that the destroyer will find no place in them to establish a stronghold!



"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." (Mat.22:37)

A Battle rages! The Battlefield is the mind. The objective of this battle is to conquer and occupy the part of us that is to be wholly devoted to the love of God and His glory.

It appears, many times, that this battle is very one sided. The losses seem to far outnumber the wins. Since the fall of man, the mind has become a willing sympathizer with the invading thoughts and attitudes of ungodliness.
The "carnal mind" is fertile ground for the seeds of the adversaries! (Rom.8:7)

We are bombarded daily by attacks on our eyes and ears that call to us and say..."look here" or "listen to me" or "think about this."
These subtle, and sometimes not so subtle calls, seek to draw us away from the source of peace and bring us into captivity and defeat! (Isa.26:3)

They relentlessly work to overthrow that which we have received as the regenerated people of God. That is, a renewed, holy mind that delights in the law and righteousness of God.
According to Paul we have been given a "sound mind"! (2Tim.1:7) What a contrast this is in comparison to the madness and negativity of the world and it's corruptible offerings!

This battle is wearisome and exhausting and the saints are often found groaning within themselves as the onslaught never ceases in this life. But there is a safe haven, a city of refuge! God has given us this place of peace in the midst of our fight.
What is it? Is it not the exhortation, that is not only found in Isa. 26:3 but also in the words of Phil.4:6-8?

Here I find my tower and bulwark of protection from the enemy.

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

And when I meditate upon Christ in an attitude of love and thanfulness all of the above are comprehended!

This is War!!

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." (Rom.8:22)

We live in bodies, in an environment, in a world, at war!

Since the fall, war has raged in every part of the created order that was affected by Adam's rebellion.

From volcanoes and hurricanes that are great visible illustrations of something terribly amiss to that which is not even visible to the naked eye. Physically, we can be quickly and devastatingly affected by germs, viruses, and diseases that, though indiscernable to the human eye, wreak havoc in our bodies. Our immune system quickly responds to this foreign invasion! There is war going on at the microscopic level!

But there is also war going on where microscopes, regardless of their magnification power, avail nothing. This is the spiritual "front" in this world of war. In this battle the opposing forces clash with relentless and determined ferocity as they seek dominion over the great object of the struggle.....the very heart of the Christian in this war torn world!

"But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." (Rom.7:23)

"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Gal.5:17)

"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" (James 4:1)

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;" (1Pet.2:11)

Think of it! Every aspect of this world, both physically and spiritually, is and has been at war since sin entered the world!

Individuals and nations rise against each other, storms and droughts ravage the earth, diseases attack the body, wild animals struggle for survival, and the flesh wars against the Spirit!

If this present world were all that I had to hope in.....I would have no hope.......I would be sorrowful, even unto death!

But, my hope is not in this warring world and this vulnerable body, no, my hope is in God's promise through His Son, that one day all of creation will be at perfect peace!

Now, think of this! No more war in nature, in our bodies, among men, or in our spirits!
This war torn life does have an end. What a day that will be when that last enemy....death, will be destroyed and the Prince of Peace reigns forever and the former wars will be remembered no more!

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Rom.8:18-21)

"Perilous Times"

In recent months I have found myself more and more aware of the rapid decay of our nation. It is not only evident that we have departed from our basic governmental foundations and under-pinnings, but we have also allowed ourselves to be swept away by the currents of our compromising, God-less culture.

Now, let me clarify, I do not mean to insinuate that we have jettisoned religion, even religion that many call Christianity. What I mean to say is that we have left, in large measure, "the faith once delivered to the Saints", that is, biblical Christianity!!
We are a nation of "comfort-lovers", a nation of apathetic "self-seekers"! We give lip-service to God and His word, but, in reality we love ourselves and our temporal things far more than God and vital holiness.

Pauls' words to Timothy come to mind: "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power." (2Tim.3:1-5)

Does this not describe the day in which we live with great accuracy? We are a nation of organizations, of political groups, of churches, of individuals, that have been "rocked to sleep" by the music of self-indulgence and greedy pragmatism!

God is simply a means to an end, a heavenly "vending machine", a celestial genie who we use when needed and forget about when all of our present desires for "health, wealth, and prosperity" are met.

Tragically though, this is not the Holy God of scripture! This is not the Sovereign God who commands all men every where to repent or perish, no, this is the God of men's fallen and depraved imagination, a God made in man's "image", rather than the true God that is declared to "hold our breath in His hand", and testifies to us that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord"! This is the Creator and Sustainer of all things that warns: "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psa.9:17)

We are doing despite to the matchless grace and long-suffering of God and we are daily, as a nation, and as individuals, rebelling against His precepts, and rejecting the way of life so that we might continue to fulfill our own evil desires for autonomy and fleshly gratification!

I cry in my heart with the prophet Jeremiah: "....turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God." (Jer.31:18)

Our only hope as a nation is that God would "make His arm bare" and send forth His quickening Spirit to turn us from our race to destruction, to awaken us from our drunken stupor and our lethargy!

Brothers and Sisters, may our God grant us hearts of discernment and compassion so that we might not be content to "lay in our beds" and entertain ourselves with the "pleasures of sin for a season" while men and women, and our nation devolve into greater and greater darkness and misery!!

I pray that I and you who read this are not as those in the days of the prophet Ezekiel when the LORD lamented, "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found NONE." (Ezek. 22:30)

"Being Conformed"

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Rom.8:29)

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" (Phil.3:10)

What does it mean to be "conformed" to his image? What does it mean to be "made conformable to His death"?

This is how a dictionary defines "Conform": (to make similar in form or character/to bring into harmony)

I do believe we have a problem!......"similar in form or character", "To bring into harmony".....With Christ!!

This will take a radical work of "conforming"!! Christ is holy and ever walks in the way of the Father in perfect obedience and complete faithfulness. I am unholy and I walk after my own wants and desires and am found to be most faithful, not to Him, but to myself! If such a "conformity" is ever to be achieved, God must do it. He alone can bring to pass such a radical transformation! I also know that this work will not be comfortable or appealing to the flesh, on the contrary, the flesh will resist it and strive to run away from it.

There are other words and phrases that desribe the ordained plan and purpose of God for the believer, such as, "Pruning", "Purging", "Refining"........Crucifying!

None of these words conjure up images of ease or pleasantness. Instead they bring to mind discomfort and suffering. But if One is to be "conformed" into the "similar form and character" of the Son, and brought into "harmony" with Him,.....there is no other way.

O' I wish there were! I have no innate desire for the way of struggle, the way of suffering, the way of constriction and narrowness that presses so hard on all that my flesh holds dear!....But, if I am to be "conformed", I must follow Him to Calvary!

This is the calling of every true believer. This is the aim and purposed end of the Father for us.....To "conform" us to the image of His dear Son. And, in order for this image to replace what I have inherited from Adam....I MUST die!

I must be "made conformable to his death".....I must, "take up my cross and follow him"!

There is no easy, flesh gratifying way to be "conformed", to be pruned, or purged, or refined.

No wonder Jesus said, "If anyone will follow me, let him sit down and count the cost." I recall a statement that was attributed to Bonhoeffer: "When Christ bids a man follow Him, He bids him to come and die."

Christianity is costly....It is costly indeed!.....But, consider the cost from this perspective: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. 8:18)

In contrast, we can seek to save our lives and preserve our comforts here, and in the end, lose both!

Yes, being "conformed" is an arduous and hard road.....yet, it yields true life, eternal comfort, and what every true believer so earnestly desires....To be like Him!!

"The Tyranny of Fear"

"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was AFRAID, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen. 3:8-10)



In this post it is my aim to briefly consider "Fear". The fear that I wish to deal with is not that "noble fear" that the scripture declares to be "the beginning of wisdom", or that proper and reverent awe and circumspection that is to be present as we contemplate the Holy character of God. No, the fear that I have in mind is that fear that began with our first parents at the Fall. This "fear" is a servile fear, that fear that brings seperation and enmity, that fear that I believe is summed up well in the word, "condemnation".

The account from Genesis that I noted above is such a stark contrast to what previously had been the experience of the man and the woman in Eden. What once was a place of sweet fellowship, harmony, and peacful co-existence with their creator was now a place that simply afforded them foilage and cover in their effort to hide from the One who should have been their chief joy!!

Now we, as their progeny, feel the weight of their terrible choice. We bow our faces toward the ground as we sense the displeasure of God toward our rebellious thoughts, words, and deeds!
We are creatures now that know fear intimately and deeply. We are tyrannized by it!

If I were to ask the question, "What are you afraid of?", or if you were to pose that same question to me, I have no doubt that we could quickly reply with a vast number of particular fears that we have. We are afraid of so many things, both animate and inanimate.
We fear the prospect of failing health. We fear the rejection of other people. We fear the loss of jobs or of economic security. We fear loneliness. We fear other people. We fear crime. We fear violent weather. We fear not being prepared for exams and questions that confront us. We fear the darkness and the unknown noises of the night. We fear to stand in front of others to speak or to just simply be there before their searching eyes. We fear the death of loved ones. We fear our own death!
We fear God! We fear His Just judgement against our own painfully perceived guilt and sin.

We are most miserable in our fears. It is bondage! It is a pitiless tyrant who hounds all those of Adam's race and dominates much of their daily motives and activities. We are indeed, moved by our fears!

Just ask yourself the question, "How many things do I do on a daily basis that are motivated by some sort of fear?" I would assert that fear taints many of our decisions and our actions!
How many of our "doings" and our "stresses" are directly related to the "fear of man" or, to the "fear of God"?

We are driven by an uneasiness, a feeling of uncertainty about people, places, and things, and most especially, the Holy gaze of God. We so desire certainty and acceptance, but alas, it seems so allusive!

I believe that I can say confidently, it's a scary world out there! It is, many times, an extremely inhospitable place. Also, we are ever aware of our failures and shortcomings with regard to our Creator's Holy standards and precepts!

O' wretched man that I am!!! Is there any hope for the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, or is it our destiny to pine away our days in trepidation and dread? Must we live this life in constant uncertainty and, even worse, contemplate the terrors to come when we stand before the righteous Judge who will "by no means clear the guilty"?

Is there any hope? For, if there is not, I would shout unapologetically, It would have been better to have never been born!!

But God!! He has not left us to our just desserts! He has not abandoned us to our self-imposed bondage, and the cruelity of sin's dominion!
He sent forth His Beloved! He sent forth the Son who lay in His bosom! He sent forth the One who was hated and despised by those whom He had made, and the One whom supplies our every breath!
He sent us HOPE and said to us FEAR NOT!!

The Son who had known no fear before the ever approving eye of the Father, must now bear our fears. The Son who had ever enjoyed the sweet fellowship that we threw away in the garden must know the crushing hell of fear fully realized......utter forsakeness by God!!

O' the depths of the riches of the mercy and grace of God! There is hope for our fear enslaved race!! May we all be enabled to look to the bearer of our fears and our condemnation, to Him who drank every last drop from the cup of God's just wrath, and may you and I hear these words afresh, each time fear seeks to dominate us once again, "FEAR NOT"!!!

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb.2:14-15)

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1John4:18)